Sheikh `Abd al-Wahhâb al-Turayrî, former professor at al-Imâm University in Riyadh
As the morning Sun climbs high into the sky, the Prophet heads to the home of one of his wives, particularly the wife whose turn it is to spend the day with him. He enters the house with the greeting of peace, brushes his teeth, and then offers the four-unit late morning prayer. It is an optional prayer, but one that he offers nearly every day. Sometimes he offers six or eight units of prayer instead of the usual four.
He looks to see if there is food ready. If there is, he might eat a little. This is especially true if he had not eaten anything earlier in the morning. Sometimes, he is fasting, but if there is food at his wife’s home at this time of day, he might choose to break his fast and share in it, especially if it was a gift.
For instance, on one occasion when he came to `Ā’ishah’s house in the late morning, she said to him: “We’ve been given a gift – someone visited us – and I put some aside for you.”
He asked: “What is it?”
She told him it was haysh, a dish made from dates and cottage cheese. He asked her to bring it to him and ate it. Then he said: “I started off this day fasting.”
It was at this time of day that he once spoke about a well-known and meritorious way to engage in the remembrance of Allah. It was on a day when he was staying at the house of his wife Juwayriyyah. He had been at her house much earlier in the morning to find her seated on her prayer rug engaged in Allah’s remembrance. When he returned in the late morning, he found her to be in exactly the same position. He asked her: “Have you been like this since I left you?”
She replied: “Yes.”
He said: “I have since then uttered four phrases, three times each, that if they were weighed against all you have said today, it would weigh equally: ‘Glory and praise be to Allah as often as the number of His creations, to the extent that He pleases, to the weight of his throne, and to the amount of ink it would require to write out His words’.”
This is the time of the morning when the Prophet’s closest Companions would visit him at home if they were facing some difficulty they wanted to discuss with him.
For instance, once the Prophet was resting in bed wearing a nondescript housecoat belonging to `Ā’īshah that did not cover his lower legs. Abū Bakr came visiting at this time and sought permission to enter. The Prophet bade him come into the house while he was in this state of dress. Abū Bakr then spoke to him about his problem and departed.
After he left, `Umar paid a visit and the Prophet received him in the same way. After he left, `Uthmān came along and sought permission to speak with him. The Prophet first sat up and arranged his housecoat so that it covered his legs and then bade him enter. `Uthmān then spoke to him about his problem and departed.
`Ā’ishah noticed the difference in the way he received her father and `Umar, and the way he received `Uthmān. She asked him: “When Abū Bakr came, you did not arrange your clothes and compose yourself. Nor did you do so with `Umar. But when `Uthmān came, you sat up and arranged your clothes. Why is that?”
He replied: “Should I not feel shy before a man the angels are shy of? `Uthmān is a very shy man. I was concerned that if I received him in the state I was in, he would have left without speaking to me about his problem.”
Usually, the Prophet is left alone at home at this time of day. `Ā’ishah tells us how he was at this time:
He was the gentlest and most generous of people when he was home alone with his family. He was a man like any of your men, but he was ready with a smile and easy with his laughter. He was a normal man, but one who helped his family out with the housework. He would mend his own sandals and stitch his own clothes and milk his sheep. He took care of his own needs and work in the house like any one of you would work.
The Prophet’s life is very family-oriented. His homes are modest one-room houses. They do not demand the kind of upkeep that requires his helping out with the housework. Nevertheless, he is conscientious in doing so. He wants to share in their daily activities to be an equal partner in the household and an integral part of their lives. The Prophet prioritises married life. This is an aspect of the Message he comes with. He is not only the best of men in public, he is also the best of men when it comes to his family.
His home life is full of love, affection, and mercy. His attitude at home is relaxed and familiar. He is easygoing and playful. On one occasion, Sawdah came to visit `Ā’ishah in her home, which was adjacent to hers. The Prophet sat down between the two of them with one of his legs extended into the entrance of Sawdah’s house. `Ā’ishah had made wheat stew and told Sawdah to have some. Sawdah refused, saying: “I don’t like that food and will not eat it.”
`Ā’ishah said: “You will eat it, or I will smear it on your face.” She still refused, so `Ā’ishah took a bit of the food in her hand and smeared it on her face.
The Prophet laughed and moved his foot out of the entrance to Sawdah’s house to give Sawdah more room to manoeuvre and defend herself. He said: “Smear it on her face too.” She took some out of the bowl, reached over and smeared it on `Ā’ishah’s face. Then all three of them broke into laughter and they could be heard from the mosque. Then they heard `Umar from within the mosque calling out to his son `Abd Allah. ‘Quick,” the Prophet said: “Clean your faces. I think `Umar is coming.”
Just then, `Umar came to the door, just like the Prophet expected. `Umar called out: “Peace be upon you. Can I come in?”
The Prophet replied: “Come in. Come in.”
This playfulness is normal at the Prophet’s home. It is part of his practical example of how a Muslim’s life should be. He teaches his Companions: “Religion has room for recreation.”
A short time before the noon prayer, the Prophet takes a siesta. He always takes this nap at one of his wives’ homes, except for the occasions he goes to visit his relative Umm Sulaym. On those occasions, he might take his siesta at her house. He sometimes takes his nap there even when he finds she is not at home, and she discovers him sleeping upon her return.
